Going up?

"Scientists have created the ultimate ribbon. A thousand times thinner than a human hair and a few centimetres wide, the carbon sheet is stronger than steel for its weight, and could open the door to everything from artificial muscles to a space elevator capable of sending astronauts and tourists into orbit."

More here.

Sounds like science fiction nonsense? The space elevator entered into popular culture in Arthur C. Clarke's Fountains of Paradise.

But Clarke has a bit of track record for getting these things right. In 1945, he was the first to describe the principles of satellite communications with satellites in geostationary orbits.

And you can bet there were plenty of people at the time who tought that that was sci-fi rubbish as well.